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Apple Cinema Display 23" or 24" LED witch one to buy?

M

martenh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 24, 2008
5
0
I have a macbook pro 15" 2.4GHz Build 9G55.
I am going to buy a Apple Cinema Display 23" or the new 24" LED and can't decide witch one to pick :S

Color reproduction is most important for me because I do graphic design (DTP).

I can buy a brand new 23" Apple Cinema Display for €800 ($1120)
And the 24" Apple Cinema LED Display for €764 ($1070)

Is the glossy panel on the 24" a bad or a good thing?
Is the new LED technology a big advantage or isn't it?

Can someone please give me some recommendation on witch one to pick for a good reason?

Thanx in advance guys!
 
I would go for the the older, 23" display. Matte will make accurate colour representation easier. The build number doesn't matter, when did you buy your macbook pro? If it is the older, all aluminum design then you can't use the 24" LED anyway.

The new LED technology makes things brighter and uses less power - the main advantages are for laptops I think, correct me if i'm wrong!
 
24" LED Display is a H-IPS panel, it's a pro display. Why spend all that money on old Technology? The glossy screen is not an issue when I am editing pics of my daughter.
 
Where are you planning to get your 23" ACD? As it has been discontinued, you might still be able to get it in some stores, but probably not any  Store.

Also, if the 23" is significantly cheaper, go for it, otherwise if you are only saving a little, go for the 24" LED.

Plus the 24" LED comes with the "Mini-DisplayPort" connector, which we'll probably see on a few more Mac products too.
 
The 24" LED is a better display with much newer technology. Just play with one at the Apple store and make sure you're okay with the gloss.
 
Definitely try out both at the Apple Store.

If you are OK with gloss, I'd opt for the LED display. Just keep in mind that there are no adapters to use the LED screen no other generations of MacBooks. You must have a current generation MacBook.
 
naid said:
The 24" LED is a better display with much newer technology. Just play with one at the Apple store and make sure you're okay with the gloss.
Click to expand...

Is newer always better? I still use my Sony 21" CRT. It was a top of the line model back in the day, but it puts these new displays to shame.

Problem is, people look at brightness and think its better. Its a gimmick, even ask people selling LCD TV's, they turn up the brightness because people think that means its a better TV.

I've actually started turning down the Brightness on all my displays, monitors and TV's. You have to be careful, high brightness and low lighting can start to effect your eyes. I didnt believe this at first, but now i've noticed less eye strain with lower brightness settings. Look for sharpness and color quality at lower brightness settings when comparing these monitors.

I went back to the Apple store today and compared the 23" ACD to the LED 24" side by side. Its a matter of opinion , but I liked the 23" ACD better, too bad they wouldnt take my 20" back for the floor model. Oh well, thats fine with me. But you have to compare them side by side. No one can tell u which is better, only your eyes will tell you the truth.
 
Hmmm

I am able to buy both displays from the same apple store. The 24" LED is even cheaper and newer technology. I know that both have IPS panels, but is there any grapic design professional here that uses the new 24" LED display that can give his opinion?

Tsice19 is right, I should check both of them out to see the diferences.

But JG271 isn't right about the 24" LED display
For the 24" there is an adapter that makes it possible to connect it to my older generation macbook pro.
 
martenh said:
I am able to buy both displays from the same apple store. The 24" LED is even cheaper and newer technology. I know that both have IPS panels, but is there any grapic design professional here that uses the new 24" LED display that can give his opinion?

Tsice19 is right, I should check both of them out to see the diferences.

But JG271 isn't right about the 24" LED display
For the 24" there is an adapter that makes it possible to connect it to my older generation macbook pro.
Click to expand...
Where are you seeing the adapter to allow use with an older non-DisplayPort computer? I think you have that confused. If such an adapter does exist it has to be an active converter, not an adapter, because DVI cannot be adapted to DisplayPort (however the inverse can be done with an adapter). Others have even been told by Apple salesmen that the adapters exist only to find out that they don't (and probably never will). If you have the older MB or MBP without the miniDP connector DO NOT BUY THE NEW 24" LED DISPLAY! I would love to be proved wrong on this but I don't think it will happen.
 
after having owned the 23" acd (excellent monitor) and now owning the 24" led acd it's just that much better.

Backlighting is much more vivid and much more evenly backlit compared to the 23" and not to mention it looks much bigger than the 23". I thought 1" wouldn't make much of a difference but I was wrong this monitor is huge and perfect size.

Contrast ratio is much higher and eye candy and wow factor is just too high and well worth the money.

Not to mention the 24" doesn't take 5-10 minutes to warm up to full brightness like the 23" acd and instant 100% full brightness.

One last thing to note is that the first time I bought the 23" acd I used it with 2 notches of brightness since the ccfl lamp was new it was really bright and pretty much instant 100% full brightness at first but after 6-8 months later I had to use the 23" acd at 5 notches to equal the 2 notches that I used because the backlight has dimmed.

Also it was annoying to wait for the backlighting to reach 100% full brightness and it looked blurry and fuzzy until it did reach 100% brightness that took 5-10 minutes everytime you turn on the 23" acd and now with the 24" led acd the backlight is always instantly 100% everytime I turn the display on and I can use the 24" acd at full notches with full eye candy goodness without having to worry about the backlighting dimming every 6-8 months, which is freaking awsome.
 
my bad

jjahshik32, what do you use your monitor for?

danny_w, I ment to say a converter, not an adapter. but the converter will do fine with the 24" LED.

I think I will buy the 24" LED, but I will compare both the displays first.
 
jjahshik32 said:
after having owned the 23" acd (excellent monitor) and now owning the 24" led acd it's just that much better.

Backlighting is much more vivid and much more evenly backlit compared to the 23" and not to mention it looks much bigger than the 23". I thought 1" wouldn't make much of a difference but I was wrong this monitor is huge and perfect size.

Contrast ratio is much higher and eye candy and wow factor is just too high and well worth the money.

Not to mention the 24" doesn't take 5-10 minutes to warm up to full brightness like the 23" acd and instant 100% full brightness.

One last thing to note is that the first time I bought the 23" acd I used it with 2 notches of brightness since the ccfl lamp was new it was really bright and pretty much instant 100% full brightness at first but after 6-8 months later I had to use the 23" acd at 5 notches to equal the 2 notches that I used because the backlight has dimmed.

Also it was annoying to wait for the backlighting to reach 100% full brightness and it looked blurry and fuzzy until it did reach 100% brightness that took 5-10 minutes everytime you turn on the 23" acd and now with the 24" led acd the backlight is always instantly 100% everytime I turn the display on and I can use the 24" acd at full notches with full eye candy goodness without having to worry about the backlighting dimming every 6-8 months, which is freaking awsome.
Click to expand...


Great pts about the LED advantage.
 
martenh said:
jjahshik32, what do you use your monitor for?

danny_w, I ment to say a converter, not an adapter. but the converter will do fine with the 24" LED.

I think I will buy the 24" LED, but I will compare both the displays first.
Click to expand...

There isn't an adapter from Apple, so maybe you are looking somewhere else? If so post a link as people are looking for one.

Personally I wouldn't go for either display. The NEC LCD2490WUXi is a better display than both of them and is regarded as the best 24" available by many professionals. Infact I don't think I've seen a single negative user or journalistic review on it. It may not be in your budget though as I don't know it's euro price.
 
martenh said:
danny_w, I ment to say a converter, not an adapter. but the converter will do fine with the 24" LED.
Click to expand...

There is a converter to convert DVI output to mini-displayport?

Please, provide links. This would be an epic find and I think it would make christmas 1000x more special for many folks.

As such, I'm confident one does not exist.
 
jjahshik32 said:
One last thing to note is that the first time I bought the 23" acd I used it with 2 notches of brightness since the ccfl lamp was new it was really bright and pretty much instant 100% full brightness at first but after 6-8 months later I had to use the 23" acd at 5 notches to equal the 2 notches that I used because the backlight has dimmed.
Click to expand...

I purchased color calibration hardware and software (X-Rite i1) at the same time I purchased my ACD23, a bit over a year ago. I profile the monitor monthly. One of the things the colorimeter measures is the brightness of the display, and the calibration process prompts me to adjust the monitor to keep brightness near a target determined by the package in conjunction with my description of its operating environment. The brightness setting I've used hasn't needed to change one iota over the past year.

Your ACD must have some defects if you've had to boost its brightness so dramatically over such a short period of time.
 
Sorry

The Apple Reseller that I contacted about the same questions I asked here told me to pay attention that I would have to buy a converter with the 24" Cinema LED display to connect it to my MBP. But I can't find one neither.
 
martenh said:
The Apple Reseller that I contacted about the same questions I asked here told me to pay attention that I would have to buy a converter with the 24" Cinema LED display to connect it to my MBP. But I can't find one neither.
Click to expand...
You can't find one because it doesn't exist, and I don't expect that it ever will either. If Apple doesn't make it, I very much doubt that anybody else will make a converter that is only used by that one display in the whole world. It is just plain dumb of Apple to limit the display in this way.
 
I had the 23" Apple Cinema Display. I have now sold it and bought the 24" LED. At the time. I had them running side by side. The LED is just that much better! Everything looks so sharp. I would probably wait until MacWorld next month because they may introduce a new model and you would be kicking yourself if you bought the old 23" Cinema Display (Which has now been discontinued).
 
martenh said:
The Apple Reseller that I contacted about the same questions I asked here told me to pay attention that I would have to buy a converter with the 24" Cinema LED display to connect it to my MBP. But I can't find one neither.
Click to expand...

Trust me. It doesn't exist. Many Apple associates and resellers don't fully understand the mini display port conundrum.

Yes, the LED has an H-IPS and the 23" has an S-IPS. Trust me, even in DTP you won't notice the difference if you are using your gear correctly.

Yes, the NEC monitors are the only ones I consider top notch. Not Dell, HP, Apple, anyone. LaCie, Eizo, NEC are the pro displays of choice in the professional/creative world and NEC is at the top.

I have seen both side by side, the H-IPS is brighter, not much sharper at all. Given the price difference I'd buy 23" ACDs for my G5 tower (x2) and my Penryn MBP (x1) and maybe even another just for the hell of it. It's just that good, and the extra FW400 ports are very welcome.

My suggestion is to either:
1) get the 23" ACD
2) spend more and get the NEC
3) spend even more and get a new MacBook Pro and 24" LED.
 
Seems like the OP said that the 24" led acd is actually cheaper than the 23" ACD.

I'm just letting ya know, you will have NO regrets if you opt for the 24" led ACD.
 
I recently acquired a 23" display, specifically because I wanted the Matte screen before they became hard to get. I'm very happy with it.

It matters for me, because I do some fairly serious photo work for gallery exhibit, and I just can't get an accurate representation of fine tonal range on a glossy screen. For someone who edits snapshots, that might not be as decisive a factor.

The other question worth asking is, what degree of control do you have over the lighting in the room where you'll use the display? If there are bad reflections on a glossy screen, do you have the ability to manipulate the lighting or the background to reduce those reflections? And how much will those reflections bother you? For some people (including me) glossy screens are a deal killer. Others don't seem to mind.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
24" of course. Newer, better panel, better design, thinner design, newer technology, etc. No backlit fading issues either since it's LED backlit.
Click to expand...
If there is no way to hook it up (there isn't unless you have the new model MB/MBP/MBA with the miniDP connector) all of that makes very little difference.
 
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